The present invention relates to large round balers and more specifically relates to pickups for introducing crop into the inlet of the bale-forming chamber of such balers.
Large round balers are typically provided with pickups including a reel defined by a central shaft mounted for rotation about a horizontal transverse axis and carrying transversely spaced spider members to which a plurality of tooth bars are mounted for pivoting about respective axes paralleling said transverse axis. A plurality of spring teeth are mounted to each tooth bar and cam arms are connected to one end of each tooth bar and carry a roller received in a cam track mounted at one end of the pickup, the track being shaped for causing the tooth bars to rock and cause the teeth to trace out a desired path as they sweep crop into the baling chamber inlet. For example, in one known baler design having an expansible baling chamber with an inlet at the bottom thereof, the pickup teeth are guided such that they withdraw from the crop and through slots between bands forming a crop stripper at a point just before the crop engages an upwardly traveling run of belts forming a rear portion of the baling chamber. Further, the guided motion of the teeth keep them from interfering with the upright run of belts at a location where they are supported by a lower front roll carried by the discharge gate of the baler.
While pickups incorporating cam-guided teeth, as in the aforementioned example, operate satisfactory, the cam track, roller arms and rollers for effecting tooth guidance adds a considerable amount to the cost of manufacturing the pickup.